Emily Mayer

My name is Emily Mayer, and I am the Middle School Principal of Boston Collegiate Charter School. My educational journey started as an English major at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. I went on to New York University to study English Education, and earned my Masters in the Art of Teaching in 2005. I stayed in New York and became the founding 9th grade English teacher of New Heights Academy Charter School in 2006. I stayed with NHACS for five years, helping it grow and stabilize, before my life took me to Boston. I was fortunate enough to obtain a position as the 8th grade reading teacher at Boston Collegiate Charter School in 2010. I have found my home here at BCCS, and was both excited and humbled upon learning I had been chosen to become the Middle School Principal for the 2013-2014 school year. I am proud to come to work every day and help lead our school in its continuing journey for educational excellence in our mission to prepare each and every student for college. I am constantly inspired by our teachers and their dedication to providing our students with the best education possible.

BCCS has always been a place of constant reflection and growth. When Massachusetts agreed to align with the Common Core standards, BCCS immediately began planning the transition and internal path our school would take to tackle this challenge head on. We whole heartedly believe in the Common Core, and have rolled out our transition plan accordingly. We started by taking a hard look at our curriculum, identifying places of success and areas for improvement in how our instructional practices align with the standards. We have since differentiated plans for teachers, depending on where they are in their practice, in order to change, bolster, alter, and in some cases overhaul curriculum to become aligned with the Common Core. This has been quite an undertaking and a challenge, but it has also allowed us to continue the opportunity to share best practices and professionally develop in meaningful ways that will ultimately benefit our students. While our strengths lie in our ability to step back and reflect on where we are, we are still struggling in how we can measure if we are in alignment with the Common Core. How can we assess if our students are truly mastering the standards? I am excited to see if this question can be answered through the ANet transition fellows and their professional growth over the year in their transition to the Common Core.